


Eternal Motion

by DragonflyxParodies



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), DCU, DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne Is A Shit Dad, Bruce fucking gets it, Cassandra Cain is Batman, Domestic Violence, Fugitives, Jason Has A Gang That Loves Him, Koriand'r Declares War On Earth, Multi, Other, Politics, Post That One RHATO Issue We Don't Fucking Like, Post-Violence, Protective Gotham, Secret Marriage, Tim Stalks, Which is the thesis of a good majority of my fics, but its good I promise!, but like convenient politics, but this one is special okay, i really don't know how to tag this one, like she fucking deserves, so technically, the violence has already happened, this is another the outlaws get hitched in space thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonflyxParodies/pseuds/DragonflyxParodies
Summary: It comes in two parts.Gotham, rioting. Stained with her prodigal son's blood and fearing his absence. Something has to change, and Tim is willing to be the catalyst Jason will need.And the second;War, looming. A monarch presented with a betrayal of intergalactic consequence. If Batman is going to attempt to assassinate her consort, he'd best be prepared for the consequences.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne & Tim Drake, Duke Thomas & Tim Drake, Koriand'r & The Batfam, Lian Harper & Koriand'r, Roy Harper & Jade Nguyen, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson & Jason T. & Damian W., Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Kate Kane, Tim Drake & Koriand'r
Comments: 24
Kudos: 129





	Eternal Motion

Bruce rarely acted on impulse, but when he did – and Tim cringed even admitting this to _himself –_ he… _overreacted_. It was the same when he was caught off-guard; he tried to overcorrect for his mistakes. Which led to problems, and more overcorrecting, and more problems.

Really, he had a sneaking suspicion this had been Jason’s plan all along.

X

Red Hood was missing for exactly three days before Gotham descended into chaos, and it was all Bruce’s fault. And Tim was _not_ saying that _just_ because he was the reason for Jason’s absence.

The Red Hood had been active in Gotham for three months before he began making any big moves, challenging dominant gangs and bosses, and wresting control of Gotham’s underworld out of the hands of its most prominent figures.

Bruce had not picked up on this for another four months – although to be fair, there had been a rash of League-level incidents and Rogues in that time span that had distracted him. A little suspicious, considering, but Tim was willing (barely) to write it off as coincidence.

This was followed by another two months of playing cat-and-mouse, and then Jason’s big reveal and the Confrontation That Nobody Talks About.

So.

Nine months, Jason had spent in Gotham, at _least_. Nine months doing for her people what he saw the Bats and Birds of Gotham failing to do. Nine months spent caring for the people even they forgot about. Nine months spent protecting and helping and building up communities everyone else had forsaken, thrown to the wayside, _forgotten_.

And in those nine months, her people had grown to love him.

Add the twenty-six _other_ months between the Confrontation That Nobody Talks About and the present, and, well.

Superman might be something like a god in the eyes of some people. But even that devotion _pales_ against the loyalty of Gotham to her favored son.

x

In _not_ dealing with Jason’s hostile takeover and the ensuing restructuring, instead choosing to leave it be, Batman had inadvertently abandoned control of the city to Jason. Tim didn’t think Bruce really understood _how much_ control that was, not really. Because—well, Jason was right. Nobody cared about the poor, the homeless, the criminal in Gotham. Nobody cared about Crime Alley. Batman was constantly tossing any issues that part of the city had on a backburner to deal with threats of the costumed variety, or the apocalypse, or a business meeting. When it wasn’t a slow night, when it wasn’t convenient, Batman didn’t bother with them. The lack of attention had only increased when Bruce had tossed low-level criminals into Jason’s ring and left.

But Jason? Jason loved the city so fiercely he put up with Bruce for it. Subjected himself to literally every trauma he’d ever experienced again and again to make lives better for the people living in Gotham – _his_ people. Moralizing the drug trade had been the first step. Stopping gang wars, keeping innocents from being caught in the cross-fire, had been second. Getting his hands into every shady business and restricting and reorganizing as he saw best, setting up aide and help for victims – and it _helped_. With no secret identity to protect, Jason stayed close to his people. Helped them, talked to them, worked _with_ them instead of hiding in some plush office.

And for that, he was _theirs._

X

Tim was entirely sure the fallout of the Confrontation That Nobody Talks About had been unplanned, but that didn’t really help much. If anything, it made it more impressive.

Because although Jason had kept his identity secret from _Bruce_ , and though he’d never really made an effort to inform anyone else, he’d been much more honest with the people he saved, those he worked with.

Bruce, at the time the Red Hood had first cropped up as a problem, had dismissed those people as nothing. They were the cobbled-together remains of those loyal to dead men and women serving a new figurehead out of fear. Bruce had missed that Jason’s people were _Jason’s people_ , and they were _organized_. They hadn’t followed Jason out of fear back then. They’d been genuinely loyal.

And they still were; and they were _furious_ once they put the pieces together.

If Jason had been Robin; if Batman had been his father; then it was his _father_ who’d let him die the first time around. Who’d caused whatever fallout the Confrontation That Nobody Talks About had led to. Who’d been standing against _their_ vigilante since his reappearance.

And then had come the videos. Dozens of them, from different angles and directions. People had _died_ taking them, uploading them. All to protect _Jason_.

The structure, glitching into existence above Gotham City. The debris it had thrown off; Jason, tumbling out of it, the explosion, him _running_ for buildings _caught in the crossfire_ , and –

\- and Bruce, leaping out of the smoke to beat his son into the cement beneath them. Jason, _not fighting back_. Pleading, though none of the videos catch audio. There’s too much blood flowing down Jason’s face to properly make out how his lips move.

So.

Tim couldn’t blame them.

X

Crime Alley kicks the riots off by burning an effigy of Batman and spray-painting red helmets everywhere. People plaster red blankets and sheets and flags over their windows. Jason’s people tell the GCPD to get fucked and set up barricades. Most of the GCPD hate Jason with a passion; they make police brutality an art. They lose.

Jason’s people aren’t playing games. They aren’t here for the law.

If Red Hood dies, they say, so does the Bat. Anytime Batman gets _close_ to the Alley, people get violent. Bruce breaks his leg after a kid cuts his grappling line mid-air with a knife. Dick takes Damian back to Bludhaven. Steph grabs a first-aid kit and joins Leslie during the day. She’s not going out at night anymore.

There’s not a need, in the Alley. Jason’s people are there to protect their families and neighbors. It’s just business as usual for everyone else.

Tim screams into a pillow for a solid minute before deciding that he has to do something.

Luckily, he knows where to start.

X

Cass is so put out by the fact they aren’t sneaking into Jason’s safehouses that Tim has to sit her down and explain _boundaries_ and _what do you mean you don’t know_ and _Jason’s never made a secret about it_ and that’s how he finds out none of the rest of the bats hang out with him that much.

Well. Neither does Tim. Tim just _stalks_.

Jason doesn’t like people entering his space. He’s got triple the number of safe houses as any other person _in existence_ mostly as decoys, tests, _traps_. Specifically for the Bats. And apparently hearing _get out of my fucking apartment_ accompanied by said building going down in an explosion of fire and smoke just…never computed.

Duke puts his face in his hands and _groans_.

“Man, look – sure, bringing him home and all is great, but he’s not gonna _come_ home.”

Steph rests her weight on Tim’s head.

“You’re right. We need to go get the others.”

X

Damian’s eager to come. They have to trick Dick.

Tim doesn’t let himself think about it. He just texts Barbara the time and place, and come Thursday the whole lot of them are kicking down Kate’s door and piling into her apartment. Kate’s girlfriend shrieks in surprise and bolts for the bedroom, and _wow_ , there are _children present_ , Tim can _never_ unsee that.

Kate stares after her girlfriend, looks back at them, and chugs the whole fucking pot of coffee she’s holding.

Nobody’s said anything by the time Montoya stalks back into the room, fully clothed. Tim sees Steph waggle her fingers at the detective out of the corner of his eye, but Cass elbows her before he can.

“Okay, _what the fuck_.”

“I considered calling in the Justice League, but if Bruce is going to insist we can handle our own shit then he gets to live with the consequences.” Tim opens with, and Dick’s head snaps around so quickly Tim kind of expects to hear a crack. Kate’s on edge and alert at that, even with her mussed hair and wrinkled pajamas.

“I hereby open this Family Meeting with a motion to instate Cassandra as Batman for the foreseeable future.” Duke doesn’t sound half as robotic as Tim had expected, as the other teen flings himself onto Kate’s couch.

Duke hadn’t been there the last time. He’d been terrified he’d get this one wrong.

Dick lets out a strangled sound, and Barbara wheels herself over to Kate’s kitchen table and drops her laptop on it with a deep _thud_.

“Motion accepted. All in favor?”

Dick’s the only one who doesn’t say _ay_.

X

They set up a patrol schedule easily enough. Damian is taking rigorous notes for Alfred’s later perusal; they agree on a second meeting time should Alfred have any input without fanfare. They’d have invited him, but he won’t leave Bruce’s side. And, frankly, _someone_ needs to babysit Batman.

It’s when they get into the actual meat of the discussion that things get complicated.

“If we’re going to judge Kate for killing in defense of her niece – no matter our personal feelings on the matter, _that’s not the topic here –_ we _have_ to judge Bruce for what he did to Hood.” Duke starts out _so_ diplomatically too. If Tim wasn’t playing his cards so close to his chest, he’d have been more supportive, but…

“Hood shot Penguin.” Right out of the gate, Dick’s snarling. Kate and Steph look taken aback, and Tim is once again reminded how few people seem to realize the eldest Wayne is _kind of a dick_.

“Bruce accused Jason of _murdering_ the Penguin. Jason didn’t. And Jason wouldn’t _miss_ at point-blank range. Here are the hospital files on Penguin’s current condition. His short-term memory was shot. Not _literally_ shot, it just – that’s what was damaged.” Tim adds hastily, throwing photocopies onto Kate’s coffee table. They’re snatched up and passed around within moments, and Damian _hisses_ when a copy comes dangerously close to smearing the ink on his notes.

“Short-term memory damage…I agree Jason missed on purpose. But how would he…? And _why?”_

Cass is Tim’s only hundred-and-ten-percent ally here, and it’s her time to shine. She slams down a bunch of photographs; grabs from the news report that caught the shooting. She stabs a finger at the Penguin’s rotund form.

“ _Knows_.” She says, and Dick kind of freezes, where he’s halfway climbed out of his seat.

Damian hisses again and bats Cass’s pictures off the table in retaliation. But that’s what the brat gets for not using a _pencil_ , like any other human being would.

“Jason was visiting his father’s grave. There’s no body in that coffin.”

Duke is an unexpected ally here, too – though he’s not here for Jason. Not that Tim can blame him.

“So _our_ leading theory is that our resident zombie confronted Mr. Asshole here over his dad copying his tricks. Probably let something slip; and took care of it. _Non-lethally_.” Stephanie stretches her arms out above her head as she speaks, and sinks into Cass’s spot. Cass glances back at her and then sits on the blonde’s lap.

Dick sits back down, too.

“We won’t know until we ask Todd. But that’s irrelevant. Todd did _not_ commit murder. Penguin was _never_ pronounced dead at the scene. Father…” Damian hesitates, and then lets the rest of what he’s trying to say go. He meets Tim’s gaze, just for a moment, and looks away.

Tim nearly groans again because, _like, fine, okay_ , they kind of get along now, but _can he just deal with one brother breaking down at a time?!_

“Has he ever hit any of you before?” Tim blurts out, because, well, _never mind_.

_“This isn’t right!”_ Dick snaps, before anybody can answer. Cass nudges his side, tilts her head slightly towards Dick, and Tim groans and puts his face in his hands.

“Has anyone heard if Todd is even _alive?”_

And _Jesus_ , Damian goes in for the _kill_. Tim peers out at them over his fingertips. Dick looks like he’s been struck. Duke and Steph and Cass are resolutely looking straight ahead. Barbara’s knuckles are white around the edge of Kate’s kitchen table, and Kate and Montoya are both looking at him. So’s Damian, but that’s not a surprise.

“Bruce always said he believed Batman to be something bigger than him. He wanted it to be about a cause, not the man. He’s proven himself unworthy of that, for now. And Dick, _relax_. We all know you hate being Batman. _That’s what Cass is here for.”_

The _for now_ is entirely false, as far as Tim’s concerned, but Dick is – well. Tim’s just making concessions.

Dick storms out.

Tim waits a heartbeat while Damian glares daggers at him.

“So I’m gonna go find Jay and bring him home, anybody wanna come?”

X

Jason has been testing Bruce from the moment he came back. Everybody seems to know this except Bruce. It’s horrifying, and uncomfortable.

Because Bruce fails _every time_.

So; this, Tim thinks, was the final test. Jason was getting tired and burnt out always making excuses for Bruce, that much had been obvious. And while Starfire and Arsenal had _started_ helping him let go, it was really Bizarro and Artemis that taught him to do so.

Tim is okay with acknowledging this only because he resolutely ignores his own relationship to Bruce, and his siblings, and the mess of pain and anger and love and resentment and hurt and grief and _stuff_ that lies there.

The year had begun with Jason shooting a man on national television, and Bruce assuming the worst. The year ends with Jason shooting a man on national television, and Bruce assuming the worst.

All those promises and smiles and _you did good, chum_ s that lay between those two points of time taste like ash on Tim’s tongue. And they hadn’t even been directed at _him_.

Jason had wanted to know, when Bruce overreacted and hit his breaking point, if he’d keep his word and treat his son like his son.

At least he had an answer, now.

X

Kate joins him. Steph and Cass and Duke elect to remain behind and Hold The Fort Down, capitalized, and Tim doesn’t have the brain space to stress about that too. Babs says she’ll help, but she’s got so many side projects going that physically leaving Gotham is kind of out of the picture for the foreseeable future. Damian declares himself on reserve for _when you actually find anything useful, Drake_.

Kate shows up at his house at ten o’clock the next morning. They stare awkwardly at each other, a duffel bag over each shoulder and keys dangling from their hands.

“Well this is awkward.” Kate says, and Tim slumps in relief.

“Where are we going?” She asks. He lets her drive, and slides into the passenger seat before she gets the chance to go all Weird Aunt on him. She’s done it to Jason a few times, apparently. Safety or something.

“Crime Alley.”

She turns the car off and glares at him. Tim shrugs.

“Gotta calm the riots _somehow_.”

“It won’t work.”

He narrows his eyes at her.

X

It _does_. Because he’s a fucking _genius_. Or – well. It buys them time. And that’s all Tim had really been looking for.

Jason’s people know nothing and are incredibly suspicious of him. He peels his mask off once they’re in what is, essentially, serving as their headquarters – an old garage long since closed to the public. The woman in charge goes _oh it’s timmy_ and they all relax and then some vet with the most intimidating tattoos Tim’s ever seen goes _wait aren’t you that Drake kid?_ and only half the gathered men and women gasp, so.

Super Secret Jason Fact Number Two, the first being his need for boundaries: Jason’s made contingencies for his younger siblings in the event of his disappearance. It had nothing to do with his current relationship with them, and everything to do with making amends for the attempted murders _way back when_. That meant preparing a safe place for his siblings to go; and safe allies for his people to trust in turn.

Super Secret Tim Fact Number One: knowing about this makes him feel all warm and fuzzy.

“The Bats are handling Batman. He’s out of commission right now and won’t be handling the cowl anytime soon.” Kate says as abruptly and uncomfortably as humanely possible. She’s still got her mask on, which is fair. The lady in charge is giving Kate’s biceps very appreciative glances, when she’s not conferring with her fellows.

“I know none of you know where Jason is; we’re just stopping by to let you know we’re going to go find him and make sure he’s okay. So maybe no killing any cops or anything until it’s absolutely necessary, please and thank you. We can only keep Batman out of the picture as long as things stay calm.”

“You need a better leash, then.”

“He’ll just call the Justice League in over our heads and claim you’re aiding and abetting or sheltering Jason.” Tim says flatly, and the whole room goes _tense_.

“No metas in Gotham.” The lady in charge says sharply, but her eyes are questioning, searching.

“We’re operating under the assumption that Batman is entirely compromised.” Kate replies smoothly. She’s playing along beautifully, even if she’s still standing stiff as a board. Tim plasters his mask back on. His _literal_ mask. Not an emotional one. That one was never taken off.

The woman turns, and everybody converges on her, and there’s a lot of shockingly quiet and subtle conversation. It’s genuinely difficult to pick up on it. Tim is _very_ impressed.

Eventually, the whole group breaks apart to glare intimidatingly at them.

“You bring our boy home.” The woman says, and Kate finally relaxes.

X

Super Secret Tim Fact Number Two: he’s inherited B’s more stalkerish tendencies. Well, that’s not the secret. The secret is that he never really stopped following _Jason_. So.

He’s avoiding the fact that this is going to be undeniably clear, once they find Jason.

“Where to next?” Kate asks. Tim drums his fingers on the armrest, and debates.

He would have called Talia, except as far as he knows Jason hasn’t talked to her since the whole Incident with Damian. He’d handled that particular parental betrayal with such grace that Tim had been genuinely worried he’d been body-swapped or something. He suspects the distance there is the only reason Talia hasn’t attempted to murder Bruce; after what she did to Damian, she doesn’t have that right. And Tim thinks she doesn’t want to hurt Damian any more than she already has; defending Jason would be choosing one son over the other.

Which means Arsenal is actually probably the only one with information, not some kind of weird bait-and-switch. Arsenal has, conveniently, dropped off the face of the earth. That’s thanks to Babs.

Artemis and Bizarro’s disappearances aren’t. She’d said she’d look into it, that she’d rope Dick into helping. That way, at least, Jason’ll have some answers when he comes home. That way, they could get Dick to help without giving him a nervous breakdown.

“You’re not allowed to tell anybody about this ever.” Tim finally says, and plops a tablet between the two of them and peels off his mask. He has to nudge Kate before she follows suit, and he waits for her before making the call.

Cheshire answers at the last possible moment.

X

“No.”

“I called you because it’s easiest, not because I need you to find them. We’re not after them, though. Roy’s never had access to the kind of medical equipment we can get our hands on.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you’re turning on the big bad _Bat_ for the little shit?”

There’s a flash of dark hair in the bottom corner of the screen and then a flurry of movement and hushed hissing. Cheshire re-appears a second later with a vicious scowl on her face.

That’s good; also bad because it means Arsenal was planning on tracking Jay down _before_ the shitshow, but that’s a whole other problem that isn’t Tim’s business.

“Cass is the Bat now.” Kate drones, bored and casual, even though once she’d realized who he was calling she’d started swearing at him so loudly Tim had been thankful they are parked alone at the back end of some grocery store.

Cheshire stills.

“Shiva’s kid?”

“She’s the only one who wanted it, but don’t tell her that.”

She settles down a little bit, and the sharp anger edging her snarl and her narrowed eyes eases.

“They’ve got better medical care where they’re at than you think they do.”

Tim relaxes a little bit.

“I’ll give you a number. This isn’t my info to give.”

X

They have to go back to Barbara’s to rig up a space call using one of Dick’s old Titans communicators, and they don’t finish until the next day. He and Kate and Barbara and Cass have pizza for dinner, and again for breakfast. It doesn’t occur to Tim until Kate and Barbara are both two beers in and arguing passionately about some show or something that Kate’s never been to any of their family nights, and Tim doesn’t have the ability to deal with that so he tucks it away for later.

Cass is asleep on his lap and Kate’s passed out on Barbara’s bed when they get a call out. Babs throws her hands up in the air in victory and Tim grins at her, but they both stay quiet while the communicator rings.

A purple-haired woman with eyes so cold Tim feels a chill crawl down his spine _across space_ picks up, and sneers at them.

“You intrude.” She says, and it’s such a _weird_ thing to say –

“We’re - uh. Starfire? Koriand’r? Is supposed to pick up?”

“Funny that you bitch about _us_ picking up when you do the same.” Babs added in the kind of low drawl that meant she, at least, knew who they were talking to. And that she did _not_ like them. Not that she liked Starfire anyway. If it wasn’t for Jason’s relationship with her and Roy, _all_ of Dick’s exes would probably be banned from Gotham.

The woman snarls, and her eyes – glow. There’s a flare of purple-black _something_ and Tim thinks _oh great_ , and then the woman whirls like there’d been a noise. There’s shouting. And then a red-green blur slams the woman out of the way.

Starfire doesn’t try to hide her disappointment, though it quickly morphs into apprehension.

“Is Richard alright?”

“You haven’t had any contact with Earth recently, have you?” Babs asks carefully.

This is a task Tim is more than happy to let her handle, so he doesn’t interject. Given the way Starfire’s eyes flare so brightly the screen goes staticky, he determines this a wise course of action.

“ _What. Happened.”_

“Dick’s fine. But – Jason’s… _hurt._ ”

Starfire jerks back like she’s been struck. Her expression changes so quickly Tim can’t keep up, shock, disbelief, horror, rage, grief.

A touch on his wrist startles him. It’s Cass. She leads him out, to the kitchen, and closes the door behind them firmly. He lets her. She’s always had a good sense for when to leave a conversation, and Tim already knows he would’ve just sat in and listened.

She shoves more cold pizza at him, when he smiles wanly at her.

“Love him.” Cass says certainly, and she sounds _proud_.

“Starfire? And Jason?”

“Archer…too. Good for…him. Good…allies.”

“How are you doing, dealing with this?” Tim asks, after a heartbeat. Cass’s smile fades, and her eyes grow serious.

“Never…follow man. _Never_. Followed Cain. _Never_ again. Knew…that. Always follow… _bat._ Hope. _Right_.”

It hit him like a bucket of cold water to the face; he flinched and paled and looked down at the lump of bread and cheese in his hands.

“I’m sorry, Cass. I – I’m sorry it happened again.”

She doesn’t reply to his words, not that there was anything she could have said. Nothing would have made it better.

“How…you?” She asked quietly. Tim shrugged.

“He didn’t – Is it wrong? That he’s…he’s _always been_ my…hero?” His voice cracks. An arm slides over his shoulders, pulls him in tight.

“Close?”

“N-No, not…maybe compared. To…the rest of us. But he got – I didn’t want him to chase me away. So I just – “

He cuts himself off.

He and Cass wait in silence until the call is finished. An hour and a half later, Babs rolls in looking so vindictively pleased they both flinch at the sight of her.

“She’s on her way.”

**Author's Note:**

> My gdmn legal writing class decides to slap me in a face with   
> ha u know that punctuation u been misusing for 22 years? well bitch its time to pay up  
> and i was cringing so hard and then going like well it's not like i write legal writing for fun, that i had to retake the post-test four times.  
> (#1 fact about me that would horrify anyone who knows me even mildly personally; from high school through undergrad and now into law school, outside of this required legal writing course, I have only ever taken one course that actually mentioned grammar. So.)
> 
> This has a second part! See this first part was on idea I had. And the second part was a whole separate other idea I had. But I only wanted to write the first half of the first idea and the second half of the second idea, and they were basically the same fucking idea anyway, SO! Gotham kicks Bruce out on his ass. And Kori declares intergalactic war for her husbands. Ft. a lot of tim. Everybody wins!
> 
> ALSO; HAPPY 21ST OF SEPTEMBER YALL, go jam it out! Safely.


End file.
